Police Substation on GM Site to Be Studied

Advancing a plan to put a police substation next to a proposed industrial and retail complex on former General Motors assembly plant land, the City Council asked two city departments Tuesday to issue reports on the matter.

The Department of General Services and the Los Angeles Police Department will prepare reports for the council and its Public Works Committee in the next several weeks.

There are two Community OutReach Centers--designed to improve interaction between police and residents--in Panorama City, but neither has the equipment nor staffing that a substation would. Of the nearly 130 centers citywide, just 10 are classified as substations.

Councilman Richard Alarcon, who represents the area and made the motion requesting the departmental reports, said he would not be satisfied with just another outreach center.

“My goal is to achieve a full station,” he said. “There is absolutely a need for a full-fledged station. We’ve known that for many years. . . . But if we can’t put together the resources to make that happen, we might consider a modification to build a smaller station.”

Major national retailers have joined Mann Theatres in pledging participation in the retail and industrial development, which is expected to cost close to $100 million.

Plans call for a 16-screen Mann theater complex, restaurants and retail shops on 36 acres of the nearly 100-acre site.

About 30 acres would be dedicated to industrial use and GM would donate five acres for the establishment of the police substation.